Northlanders urged to have say on plan to reduce speed limits on part of the state highway network

Reducing speed limits on some of Northland's state highways, including from Whangārei to Te Hana, is part of a road safety strategy that waka kotahi/NZTA wants Northlanders to make submissions on

OPINION:

No need for speed.

There is a simple way to keep you and your whānau safer.

A simple way to help reduce the number of people being killed or hurt on our roads.

A simple way we can all make our communities in Te Tai Tokerau safer.

We need to shift the way we think about keeping people safe on our roads. To ask why it's still considered acceptable for anyone to be killed on our roads. And to take a much closer look at the way we are driving.

We can significantly reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads by getting the basics right. That means safer roads, safer vehicles, safer drivers, and it means safer speed limits for Te Tai Tokerau.

The 33 people killed on Te Tai Tokerau roads in 2021 are not just numbers. They are people – your people. Te Tai Tokerau people, who were killed or seriously injured just trying to get from A to B.

They are mums, dads, daughters, grandmothers, grandfathers, nephews, cousins, they are our mokupuna. They are our whānau and our friends. And all of them are worth saving.

Reducing the average speed on our roads – even by one or two kilometres an hour - will help reduce the chances of someone, including you and your whānau, being hurt or killed in a crash.

That's why Waka Kotahi is proposing change. Not radical change, but a step in the right direction that firstly addresses the places causing the greatest concern for the community.

Based on feedback from the community, we are first and foremost looking to set safer speed limits outside of schools and through townships. There is simply no need for high speeds in these places where our people are, our most precious people, who are often on foot or on a bike and who are no match for speeding steel.

So our proposed changes focus on exactly this - reducing speeds outside of schools to ensure our tamariki are as safe as possible, and through townships where pedestrian numbers are high and current speeds are no longer appropriate.

Yesterday marked the next stage in the process to make the change to safer speeds in these places. This process is a legal one and one we must follow. We realise to some that it feels too long and too slow, but it is not as simple as just swapping out a sign.

The changes proposed are based on technical analysis, crash data, how the road itself is engineered. The changes consider who is driving on the roads and at what times. They look at whether pedestrian numbers are low or high, as well as the speed vehicles are driving leading into an area where change is proposed. The proposals are robust and have local knowledge and experience weaved throughout.

So what happens now?

Please take time over the next four weeks to check the proposals and changes and let us know whether there is anything further we should consider. Feedback can be given online at nzta.govt.nz/naklspeedreviews, by emailing naklspeedreviews@nzta.govt.nz or phoning 0800 141 777.

We look forward to hearing from you.